


Don't Worry, Baby

by littlervoice



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 20:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3425090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlervoice/pseuds/littlervoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“What if I do that to our child, Harry? What if you lovingly place him into my arms and I forget to support his neck and his head just snaps right off? I’m almost certain we’ll fail if I decapitate our baby.”<i></i></i>
</p><p>-----<br/>Wherein Harry and Niall have to look after a fake baby together for health class. Naturally, Harry has the time of his life. Niall - not so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Worry, Baby

“Ah, Mr Styles, looks like you won’t have to be a single parent after all. You’ll be partnered with Niall, here.”

Harry’s head snaps up at the sound of Mrs Davis’ voice addressing him. Walking towards him is a student – Niall he assumes – with a terrible scowl on his face. Niall just slumps into the chair next to Harry with loud sigh.

Harry decides it’s probably a good idea to introduce himself to the boy who he’ll be sharing this project with for the next week. “Hi, I’m Harry,” he holds out his hand.

Niall pointedly ignores Harry’s hand. “I really don’t wanna be here,” he grumbles.

“Oh ok. Then why are you?” Harry frowns.

“Because one of the absolute idiots in the office messed up my timetable and by the time they sorted it out this was the only core class that had any spaces left. So it was either this or fail, and have to re-take the whole year again next year. Figured looking after a plastic robot-child for a week was the better option.”

 _This guy seems kind of cynical,_ Harry thinks, _I hope it doesn’t have a negative effect on the baby._

Any further conversation is interrupted by the teacher’s voice. “Now if everyone just remains seated I will bring each pair a doll, one at a time.”

Harry couldn’t wait. He loves babies. He’d been waiting for this class ever since he started university last year. When it’s their turn, Mrs Davis places the doll into Harry’s waiting arms, and everything just feels _so right._ “Hello, baby,” he coos.

“It can’t hear you,” Niall reminds Harry. Harry just ignores him, choosing to focus his attention on the bundle of joy in his arms instead.

“So where’s the instruction manual for this thing, then?” Niall asks while brushing through all the loose papers on the desk, and Harry can’t help the laugh that escapes him.

“Babies don’t come with instructions, Niall,” Harry teases. He already finds himself growing quite fond of the permanent scowl on Niall’s face.

“Like I already said – this isn’t a real baby, it’s a doll.”

Harry ignores him once more. Instead he puts on a cheery smile and asks, “So what shall we call him?”

Niall looks at Harry like he’s grown a second head. “It’s an _electronic doll_ , Harry. It’s not alive, it doesn’t _need_ a name.”

Harry quickly covers the baby’s ears. “Shh! He’ll hear you!”

“Jesus Christ!” Niall groans as he glances around the classroom. Everyone but him seemed to be having the time of their life. “This is so stupid, why does it matter?”

“Fine, I’ll choose. We’re naming him Godfrey. God, for short.”

“Harry, we can’t name our son God! Surely that’s not allowed? Let’s just call him something normal like, I dunno, Miles, or something?”

Harry giggles to himself.

“Now what is it?” Niall asks, scowl returning.

“Nothing, just – if the baby took my surname he’d be called Miles Styles.” The grin that stretches across Harry’s face is infectious, and Niall finds himself mirroring it.

“Well it’s a good job he’s inheriting my last name then, isn’t it?” Niall tells him.

“That’s fine, so long as he doesn’t also inherit your apparent cynicism,” Harry says cheekily.

Once again Mrs Davis’ voice rings out across the classroom. “Now that you’ve all met your babies, you need to work out a parenting schedule. Decide who gets the baby when. And remember – this project lasts five days so I expect you to share the work evenly. Once you’ve figured that out you’re free to leave. Good luck, guys, and have fun!”

“There’s no way I’m taking him home,” Niall tells Harry instantly.

“No, that’s not fair, you heard Mrs Davis – we have to share him _equally._ ”

“But you’re really good with babies – and I’m really not!” Niall decides to try and scare Harry into doing all the work. “The first time I held my nephew I forgot to support the neck. Almost broke his neck did poor little Theo.” And maybe Niall’s exaggerating the truth a _little_.

“What if I do that to our child, Harry? What if you lovingly place him into my arms and I forget to support his neck and his head just snaps right off? I’m almost certain we’ll fail if I decapitate our baby.”

“Niall, calm down, that won’t happen,” Harry laughs, “I’m sure his head is thoroughly attached.”

Niall doesn’t comment.

“Look, I’ll take Miles home with me tonight but tomorrow it’s your turn. No arguments. Now say bye to your son, I’m sure he’ll miss you tonight,” Harry says finally.

Harry holds the baby in his arms with such a hopeful look on his face, one that Niall can’t seem to refuse. “Goodbye, Miles,” he says and awkwardly pats the baby’s plastic head. _What was he doing with his life?_

\----------

The next morning Harry shows up to campus wearing a baby carrier across his chest. Niall doesn’t know whether to be embarrassed or a little besotted with Harry so he settles on a mixture of the two.

“What on earth are you wearing that thing for?”

Harry just raises both forearms and performs a jazz hands move. “Free hands, Niall!”

Niall shakes his head in amusement.

“Also I may have almost dropped him on the way home last night but we won’t mention that,” Harry quickly adds, looking a bit sheepish.

Niall decides to ignore Harry’s near-mishap and instead asks, “So how bad was it last night?”, almost dreading Harry’s response.

“Absolutely fine, Niall,” Harry assures him. “Only woke me up once during the night and he calmed down straight away.” Then Harry starts cooing at the doll in a baby voice, “Because you’re _such_ a well-behaved baby aren’t you, little man?”

This earns the pair a few strange looks from other students in the hallway.

“Great, well, I have class now so I’ll come collect him at the end of the day,” Niall tells Harry, and swiftly heads towards the opposite end of the building. The last thing he needs is Harry trying to fob him off with their baby all day.

\----------

Thankfully, after an almost-teary goodbye from Harry (during which the pair had swapped phone numbers – _“Just in case there’s an emergency and he needs me, Niall!”_ ), walking home with baby Miles is no trouble for Niall. He even wears that dumb baby carrier Harry had brought (but only once he’s _well_ out of sight of the university).

However the second Niall steps through his front door it all turns to shit.

Niall’s pretty sure Miles can detect that he’s no longer in the presence of Harry Styles – aka Teenage Father of the Year – and so he proceeds to cry practically non-stop for the rest of the evening. It’s driving Niall insane – he’s fed Miles, changed his nappy what feels like two-hundred times, and his arm is sore from the constant rocking motion he has going on whenever he picks the baby up – but nothing seems to shut him up.

Around midnight, Miles finally seems to be asleep, so Niall precariously lays him down in the makeshift cot he’d crafted out one of his dresser-drawers. Finally Niall would be able to get some sleep, and with a bit of luck Miles would sleep right through the night.

But apparently Niall was absent on the day they were handing out the luck of the Irish, because less than one hour later he is awoken by the baby’s cry. For a split second he considers just smothering the thing with a pillow, but then he remembers how much Harry is enjoying himself and resolves that screwing him over just for one night’s sleep would be a dick move. Also he knew for a fact he wouldn’t be able to face the disappointed look in Harry’s eyes that would follow.

So Niall gets up and goes through a routine. Rock Miles, feed Miles, change Miles, go back to bed for ten minutes. Then repeat.

By 3:30am Niall’s on the verge of tears. This stupid robotic baby was making him want to rip his own hair out. Before he succumbs to the urge to throw the baby he’s currently balancing in one arm out of the dorm window, Niall phones Harry.

“’Ello?” comes Harry’s raspy voice, and Niall already feels the calm beginning to wash over him.

“Harry, I am so sorry to call you this early but it’s –”

“Niall?” Harry sounds much more alert this time. “Is everything ok? Is Miles ok?”

“That’s the thing, Harry. He won’t stop crying. I’ve tried everything. _Everything!_ Rocking and feeding – hell, I even tried singing to the fucking thing – but it won’t shut up and I’m so tired and it’s driving me mad and I just don’t know what to do with him anymore, Harry.” Niall’s voice waivers and he feels like such an idiot for getting so emotional over a _doll._

“Hey don’t worry,” Harry soothes. Niall can hear the rustling of Harry’s bed sheets in the background behind his voice. “I’ll come over, sort everything out. It’ll be fine. _You’ll_ be fine.”

“You don’t have to –”

“Text me your dorm address. I’ll be ten minutes, tops. Don’t worry, Niall.” And with that Harry hangs up.

And sure enough ten minutes later finds Niall ushering Harry into his dorm room. And sure enough, the second Niall hands the baby over to Harry it stops crying. _Typical._

Niall can’t even find himself in him to be mad though, just collapses onto his bed in a puddle of relief. A quick glance over to the clock tells him it’s 4am.

“Y’can stay if ya want,” he informs Harry with a yawn, and then rolls over to the far side of his bed, his body pressed tight against the wall to make room for Harry.

Harry deliberates for a second. _Carrying that baby all the way home is too much of an effort_ he thinks. And Niall’s bed looks _so_ inviting. So after laying baby Miles down, Harry slides off the sweatpants and hoody he’d hastily shoved on before leaving his dorm, and climbs into bed beside Niall. Both boys are out like a light.

\----------

Niall and Harry meet in the cafeteria for lunch the next day. Harry’s already sat at one of the tables when Niall arrives. Miles is perched on Harry’s knee as he feeds him his bottle.

“You know, I’m surprised you’re not breast-feeding him or somethin’,” Niall jokes.

Harry looks down at his shirt which is already unbuttoned halfway, and then back to Miles’ face conspiringly.

“Oh no, don’t you fucking dare.”

Harry gasps and covers the baby’s ears.

“I swear to God if you start pretending to breast-feed an electronic doll in the middle of the university cafeteria I am leaving this country and never coming back.”

Thankfully Harry doesn’t go any further. Which is good, because Niall would kinda miss the loveable idiot if he had to leave the country.

\----------

Thursday finds Niall and Harry in Niall’s dorm room again – this time working on the report they have to hand in about their brief experience as parents. Or at least Niall’s working on it. Harry occupies himself by twirling around the room with baby Miles in his arms, but Niall doesn’t mind – they’ve got a good dynamic going.

“You should meet my mum,” Harry says out of the blue.

Niall blanches. “You do know we’re not _actually_ dating, right?” he clarifies, and _did Harry’s face just fall slightly?_

“Yes I _know_ that, Niall,” Harry stiffens. “She’s in town this weekend and she wants to meet some of my friends. Thing is, I don’t really have any friends – except you.” Harry’s cheeks are warm.

Niall doesn’t even know what to say. How can someone as lovely as Harry not have any friends?

Harry is unnerved by Niall’s silence. “I mean, we…we are friends, aren’t we?” he asks in an unusually timid voice, and Niall just wants to wrap him in a hug.

Instead he settles for squeezing him on the shoulder. “Course we are, bro,” he reassures Harry, and the smile he receives in return is absolutely blinding.

\----------

In their class on Friday afternoon, Harry and Niall have to part ways with Miles. Harry has an especially tough time saying goodbye to the baby, unashamedly finds himself in a tug-of-war match with Mrs Davis which only ends in tears. Niall must admit he also feels a twinge of sadness as the teacher retreats with the doll. He’d come to quite enjoy playing happy families and he’d definitely miss the convenient excuse he’d had to hang out with Harry so often.

This time, as Harry was drying his eyes, Niall did choose to pull him into a hug. “Don’t worry, if you miss him too much I’m sure we can find a way to break into the store cupboard and pay him a visit,” he jokes, mentally cheering for himself when he felt Harry giggle into his shoulder.

\----------

Niall’s meeting Harry and his mum at a small café for lunch. He’s really nervous, almost to the point of visibly shaking, although he’s not quite sure why. It’s only Harry and his mum.

“Niall!” Harry calls out and Niall can hear the grin in his voice. “This is my mum, Anne,” he gestures to the smiling woman sitting beside him once Niall is seated at the table.

“So you’re the mystery father of my sadly now-deceased grandchild.” And yep, Niall can see where Harry gets it from.

“Mum, for the last time, he’s not dead.”

“Right, if you say so,” Anne winks. Niall likes her.

The waitress comes to take their orders and the rest of the meal passes in comfortable conversation, and Niall is so glad Harry invited him.

After she finishes paying the bill, Anne leans over towards Niall and says, “If you ever did want to provide me a grandchild or two with Harry I’d definitely approve.”

Both Niall and Harry splutter.

“Ok mum! I think it’s time to leave. Don’t want you to miss your train, do we?” Harry all but shoves his mum out of the café door, Niall trailing a few steps behind.

Once outside, Anne gives both the boys hugs – a kiss on the cheek too for Harry – and then she sets off down the road towards the train station.

“I’m sorry about that she has – mmph!” Harry’s sentence is cut off when Niall rushes forward and kisses him. Whatever Harry was going to say doesn’t matter anymore. All that Niall cares about is gaining access to Harry’s mouth. And the moan that Harry lets out when he presses their bodies together allows Niall to easily slip his tongue inside Harry’s open mouth.

Harry pulls away from the kiss when he remembers they’re still stood outside the café in the middle of a very public street. “Wanna go get started on making them grandchildren for my mum?” he suggests, eyebrows waggling lewdly.

Niall just rolls his eyes fondly and sets off down the road towards his dorm, one final glance back at Harry.

“You do _know_ how babies are made, right?”

**Author's Note:**

> I know people don't normally do this kind of thing at university but i took a few liberties because i'm just a mere brit who's clueless about the american education system
> 
> littlervoice.tumblr.com


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